Or maybe you just read on and didn't bother to work out your Scrabble move at all. If that's ... In case you don't know
WORDY TO WIN Why men Scrabble for glory and women… don’t.
HELLO TO TEBO Our new Trainee’s career could be astronomical
A FATAL FALL OUT Can a neurosurgeon risk tension at work?
Your weekly bulletin of wit & wonder in the world of…
Wg Employment Issue 566/September 2017 OK – I’ve just laid: A B L E Here are your letters: D I X E T C E Don’t read any further down. You’ve got two minutes to intersect my word at any point and create your own word. Three… two… one… GO! Done it? Yes? What did you get? EXITED? EXCITED? TAXIED? CABLED? Top marks if you got EXCITABLE! Or maybe you just read on and didn’t bother to work out yourOrScrabble move all. Ifonthat’s the case you’re probably female. Men reading maybe you justatread and didn’t bother to work out your Scrabble move atthis all. have more likely just spent half an hour getting 93 variables on that collection letters. If that’s the caseof you’re probably female. According to The Independent this week, men are better at winning Scrabble because women can’t be bothered. In surveys run by scientists at the University of Miami, 300 National Scrabble Tournament participants were asked about their playing habits. It emerged that men spend many hours not just playing but also analysing the moves of previous winners, practicing anagrams and looking up obscure words. Girls, though, just want to have fun. Although both sexes surveyed were spending similar amounts of time on the game, the lasses were just in it for the LOLZ. Yes – this is jarringly youth speak, but, look, LOLZ will surely be accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary any time now, offering you a whole new way to get 42 on a Triple Word Score. In case you don’t know – LOL is text speak for Laughing Out Loud. Not Lots Of Love as some have believed, leading to some perplexingly callous text messages such as: Sorry to tell you Flossy has just died in her cage. LOL Anyway, it’s good that we ladies are in for the fun of it. Scientists say that as a skill building exercise, Scrabble is largely pointless, so the social angle must be the main benefit. Mind you, Brett Smitheram from Chingford might disagree. Last year he won 7,000 euro in the Scrabble World Championship. So. My move. I’ve got OXIDIZE to hang off your last effort. AND it’s on a triple word score. So what score is that, everybody..?*
Violent objections Getting on well with your workmates is desirable for all of us – but sometimes it’s a matter of life and death. In the case of Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust v Akinwunmi, Mr Akinwunmi (‘Mr. A’) was a consultant neurosurgeon for the NHS trust. Mr. A had poor relationships with a number of fellow surgeons, and had previously complained that he was being bullied - and bought a race discrimination claim to the Employment Tribunal, which was settled. It had been agreed that Mr. A would take an unpaid three month sabbatical. During this sabbatical, Mr. A raised some concerns about patient safety and alleged that his colleagues were turning away NHS patients whilst accepting private work. His colleagues claimed that he was incompetent and his practices were unsafe. A complaint was made to the police that Mr. A had also threatened to assault one of his colleagues. The Trust failed to notify Mr. A that the police had decided to take no further action against him.
EVENT SEASON 2017 SEMINARS
MASTERCLASSES
AVOIDING RECKLESS RECRUITMENT Tuesday 26th September
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Wednesday 1st November
DIGITAL DILEMMAS Thursday 30th November
To book onto any of our events email Karen Clarkson or Gina Spampinato at
[email protected].
Peace of Mind Do you want to save your business time and money, and reduce stress?
A decision was made to limit his sabbatical to three months. Mr. A appealed against this decision but his appeal was not upheld, and his absence from work became unauthorised. Mr. A argued that it was impossible for him to return to work as there were various serious outstanding issues with his colleagues and this could be a risk to patient safety. Mr. A was also concerned the police might arrest him if he returned to work and came into contact with the colleague he was alleged to have threatened. The Trust stated that the complaints could not be dealt with until he returned. A disciplinary hearing was held and Mr. A was dismissed because of his unauthorised absence. Mr. A brought claims for unfair dismissal and automatic unfair dismissal because of whistleblowing and victimisation.
“We signed up for Peace of Mind a few years ago and have been very impressed by the service and advice that we have received.” Contact us today on 02380 717717 or email
[email protected] to find out how Peace of Mind can help your business.
The Employment Tribunal dismissed Mr. A’s claims for whistleblowing and victimisation but did find that his dismissal was unfair. On appeal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal agreed that dismissing Mr. A for his unauthorised absence was unfair because the full context of the absence was not taken into consideration by the Trust. The EAT held it was unreasonable for the Trust to expect Mr. A to return to work before trying to resolve the outstanding issues and improve working relationships. The EAT agreed that insisting Mr. A return to a workplace where people’s lives could depend on good working relationships was particularly unreasonable. The EAT noted that the Trust’s witnesses were found to be ‘disingenuous’ when giving evidence. Employers should recognise the importance of acting on recommendations to improve working relationships and should carefully consider whether it’s reasonable to expect an employee to return to work before any changes have been made.
Tebo – A new star in the WG universe Hot on the heels of our announcement of new recruit, French born Emilie, last week, we now welcome Tebo Sebitlo. Business Management graduate Tebo joined our Conveyancing team in Fareham in 2015, has now begun his Recognised Period of Training and will be working with us in Employment Litigation. His family back in South Africa predicted his career…
Are you following us on Facebook? If you haven’t liked us already, follow the link below…
‘I have always been told that I asked too many questions as a kid and my relatives kept saying that I will probably end up being a lawyer,’ admits Tebo, who’s a keen footballer and cricketer in his spare time. He also confesses to a habit of discussing the stars. A lot. ‘My friends tell me that I talk about how fascinating the universe is a little too much. I’ve therefore been banned from even bringing the subject up when we meet up. I personally do not think I talk about it that much…’ *72
…and after liking us on Facebook, why not follow us on Twitter?
Contact the team Sarah Whitemore (Partner) – 02380 717462 Howard Robson (Partner) – 02380 717718 Lisa Joyce (Associate) – 02380 717447 Emma Kemp (Associate) – 02380 717486 Natalie Rawson (Solicitor) – 02380 717403 DISCLAIMER While every effort is made to ensure that the contents of these diaries are up -to-date and accurate, no warranty is given to that effect and Warnergoodman does not assume responsibility for their accuracy and correctness. The diaries are provided free of charge and for information purposes only. Readers are warned that the diaries are no substitute for legal advice given after consideration o f all material facts and circumstances by an experienced employment lawyer. Therefore, reliance should not be placed upon the legal points explained in these diaries or the commentary upon them.
UNSUBSCRIBE If you do not wish to receive future editions of this newsletter, please simply reply to this e-mail and include the word
Simply click on the logo to start following us and see our daily updates.
COPYING THESE DIARIES ON TO OTHERS While the author retains all rights in the copyright to these diaries, we are happy for you to copy them on to others who might be interested in receiving them on a regular basis, provided Warnergoodman is acknowledged as the publisher of the diaries and provided those persons register directly with ourselves, so that we are able to send future editions to them direct. No charge will be made for doing so. Alternatively, simply send us the e-mail contact details for anyone who wishes to receive the diary and we will be happy to add them to the circulation list. Unless expressly agreed by Warnergoodman in writing, nobody has authority to copy or use these diaries, or extracts from them, for any promotional or commercial purposes.
